Leon Say

Leon Say (6 June 1826-21 April 1896) was Finance Minister of France from 1872 to 1883 and a co-founder of the Liberal Republican Union. He was the grandson of Jean-Baptiste Say.

Biography
Jean-Baptiste-Leon Say was born in Paris, France in 1826, the grandson of the famed economist Jean-Baptiste Say. He followed in his grandfather's footsteps by becoming an economist, and he was elected to the Assembly of 1871 and joined the Moderate Republicans. In December 1872, Adolphe Thiers appointed Say Finance Minister of France, desptie Thiers' protectionist views and Say's own liberal views. In 1879, he succeeded in paying off the indemnity from the Franco-Prussian War to the German Empire, and he also removed restrictions on internal commerce. By 1882, his academic liberalism had become old-fashioned as socialism and protectionism rose in popularity, and he was forced to resign. In 1889, he left the Senate and became a member of the Chamber of Deputies for Pau, believing that his efforts for liberalism were more needed there. Say co-founded the Liberal Republican Union party that same year. He died in Paris in 1896.